Which is correct: while away hours, or to wile away hours? I was asked this question today and thought others may be puzzling the same question. The Macquarie dictionary defines ‘while away’ as to cause time to pass, especially in some easy or pleasant manner, so ‘while away’ is correct in this context. ‘Wile’ means to beguile, lure or entice, so to ‘wile away’ could mean something entirely different, but the actual answer is that both are correct. See these examples: while away, to cause (time) to pass, especially in some easy or pleasant manner (usually followed by away); wile away, to spend or pass (time), especially in a leisurely or pleasurable fashion.

Hello, Peg. Lovely to hear from you. To answer your question, it really depends on which dictionary you look at, but my feeling is that if you’re concerned, perhaps use ‘while away’ because of what could be perceived to be negative connotations associated with ‘wile’. ‘Wile’ probably comes from the Scandinian word vel (craft, fraud) or vela (defraud). Also, if someone wiled a child away from their home, for instance, this would also not be a nice thing to do. So, while both ‘while away’ and ‘wile away’ are correct in the usual context of time passing in a pleasant manner, if you’re worried, rather use ‘while away’. I hope that helps!